Representing the first facility of its kind in Falcon School District 49, Falcon Virtual Academy celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony Oct. 12. Teachers, community members, district staff and D 49 board members were among the more than 80 attendees.FVA, located at 6113 Constitution Ave. in Colorado Springs, provides a blended learning environment; bringing together online education with student-teacher interaction.Guests in attendance enjoyed drinks and snacks provided by Falconís Classic Catering. Door prizes included gift certificates to Tucanos Brazilian Grill, Texas Roadhouse, Culvers and Sonic; and bags and T-shirts from FVA.Dave Knoche, FVA principal, spoke to the attendees. ìThis building allows us to invest a huge amount of time and energy into our passion,î Knoche said.Kim McClelland, innovation leader for the iConnect Zone, introduced the keynote speaker, Susan Patrick, president and chief executive officer of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning. The association is a nonprofit organization that facilitates online learning for students worldwide.ìYou, Kim McClelland and District 49, are providing education opportunities that are really world class,î Patrick said. ìThis building exemplifies the future of learning.îFollowing Patrickís presentation, McClelland and Knoche cut the ribbon, signifying the official grand opening of FVA.After the ceremony, FVA students gave tours of the facility. Sophomore Fox Zimmerman showed guests the different rooms available for student use and described various attributes of the building, such as the dry erase paint on all the walls throughout the facility so teachers and students can use them as workspace.Zimmerman said he has been in the K-12 online learning program since kindergarten. He said he is happy to have a place to mingle with other online students. ìI like being able to have a social part in school as well as online,î he said.Texas Roadhouse provided lunch following the ribbon cutting ceremony and student tours.
